Chapter Text
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Fushiguro was amazing. Insanely amazing. Yuuji had always known that. He had known that from the first day he had met the sullen boy and had progressively thought he was even more amazing with each passing day.
Yuuji did not, however, know that he was attracted to Fushiguro. Not until this exact moment, at least, with Yuuji’s back pressed roughly on the floor of a wooden wardrobe as Fushiguro’s torso bowed over him in the darkness. He could feel the raven haired boy's warm breath skimming against the skin of his neck and his ear - could feel the younger boy's body heat radiating off of him. Both of Fushiguro’s large hands were on either side of Yuuji’s hips, trapping him against the hard surface.
---
“Itadori?”
Yuuji, halfway under Gojo’s desk, popped his head over the wooden tabletop at the sound of his name. Fushiguro stood in the doorway, dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his lips in a small pout. His arms were crossed across his chest, and he was swimming in an oversized grey hoodie.
“Fushiguro! Go away before Kugisaki comes!” Yuuji whispered desperately, dipping his head back down once more before continuing his journey under Gojo’s desk. He accidentally slammed his knee against the black rolling chair, groaning in pain. As he jerked his knee away, his head slammed against the side of the desk.
“Don’t tell me you’re playing their hide and seek game.”
“Of course I am! Winner gets to exercise the curse on the next mission! Inumaki-senpai always wins and I want to win for once.”
There was a pause, and all that could be heard in the small office was Yuuji rustling fervently under the desk. He had been attempting to fit under this damn desk for the whole game, and he knew his time was almost up. It was this or nothing at this point in time.
“You don’t fit there. I can see your feet.”
“Damn it!” Yuuji groaned, slowly untangling his limbs in order to escape the confines of the desk. He peered over the wooden desk at Fushiguro once more, putting his chin against the top of the cold surface and pouting up at him. Fushiguro was still standing in the doorway, now leaning lazily against it as he watched Yuuji struggle. “Where do I hide then?!”
The younger boy glanced around the office, blue eyes scanning in search of a better spot. His hair, Yuuji suddenly noticed, was messier than usual and unkept. Paired with the oversized sweatshirt, it appeared that he had just woken up, despite the fact that it was already late in the afternoon.
“The wardrobe?” Fushiguro suggested, lazily raising one shoulder in a shrug. “If you’re playing against Inumaki-senpai, you’re going to lose anyway.”
Yuuji spun around to examine the wooden wardrobe behind him. It was big enough for him to fit, and it was maybe a crazy enough spot that Kugisaki wouldn’t think to check inside of it. The only reason he was even in here was because Gojo was away on an important mission. He had been extremely busy after the Goodwill Event. Usually, this room was completely out of bounds. He turned to grin at Fushiguro, who appeared bored as he continued to slump lazily in the doorway.
“Yeah, I could-”
“Panda-senpai! I saw you! You can’t run from me!” Kugisaki yelled erratically somewhere inside of the building, close enough to startle the two boys in the room. Fushiguro raised his eyebrows in bewilderment, leaning back to glance around the edge of the doorway in an attempt to locate their fellow first year.
“Leave! She’s going to see you!” Yuuji whispered, leaping up and scrambling towards the wardrobe. He yanked it open, getting an eyeful of an infinite amount of Gojo’s long coats. He glanced back at Fushiguro, who was about to walk away from the room, when he heard Kugisaki yell once more; much closer now. Fushiguro glanced back at him, appearing to be confused at what to do.
Yuuji, panicking, could only think of one thing. “Hide with me! If she sees you, she will know I’m here too!”
Fushiguro looked as if Yuuji had slapped him across the face. “Absolutely not.”
“Please, Fushi. I really really want to exercise the next curse, I’ll do anything you want-”
“No.”
“Fushiguro-”
“No.” He began to turn, heading out towards the sound of Panda and Kugisaki screaming somewhere close by. Yuuji’s heart dropped, desperation taking over.
“I want to win because I’m going to die soon!” Yuuji whispered loudly, attempting to catch Fushiguro’s attention. It was a dirty play, but it worked. The raven haired boy stopped in his tracks, only his back now visible since he had been in the process of retreating. Yuuji scrambled with his next words, trying to put into words exactly how he was feeling. “I want to make a difference before I go, okay? I don’t have a lot of time left and I’m sick and tired of-”
Fushiguro turned sharply on his heel. He stalked towards Yuuji with a furious expression - his blue eyes filled with a fiery rage. Half terrified and half thankful, Yuuji clasped his hands together in a silent prayer, whispering his thanks. Fushiguro smacked his hands out of their prayer stance before putting a long leg into the wardrobe. He aggressively pushed all of Gojo’s hangers to one side so that they could fit better.
“That's not fair, Itadori.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Yuuji whispered, hopping in place as he desperately waited for Fushiguro to finish entering the wardrobe. The boy looked hilarious, long limbs bent in all directions as he pressed against the long coats. Before Yuuji could think of the consequences, he quickly slid into the wardrobe himself, quickly shutting the small wooden door behind them.
So, that’s how they ended up pressed against each other in the small wardrobe, hidden underneath the hangers that were holding up Gojo’s coats.
Yuuji could hear Fushiguro grumbling grumpily as Yuuji slid onto his back, his head propped up on the other side of the wardrobe. He bent his legs and accidentally slammed them into the other boy. Because of the impact, Fushiguro fell forwards in an attempt to not hit his head. His hands fell on either side of Yuuji onto the cold surface beneath them. He could feel Fushiguro’s strong forearms holding him up on either side of Yuuji’s hips, and the raven haired boy's breath splayed across Yuuji’s neck and his ear.
Yuuji’s brain short circuited.
This is the closest that Yuuji had been to anyone besides people that were related to him, so he chalked it up to his teenage hormones that were making him breathless and shaky. He couldn’t see Fushiguro in the darkness; only able to feel his warmth and a body mass hovering over his. His head began swimming and his palms were sweating profusely. Yuuji was very sure that he would have rather lost all exercising of curses for a month over finding out that he was attracted to his friend in the small confines of a closet. As soon as he had shut the door and lapsed them into darkness, Yuuji knew he had fucked up.
He could hear Kugisaki’s chunky heels clicking quickly across the floor. She was now running right past Gojo’s office. She yelled something that Yuuji’s muddled mind couldn’t make sense of, but he felt Fushiguro let out an annoyed huff of breath in response to her words.
The huff of breath was what finished off whatever was left of his sanity. The low noise in the darkness, right above his ear, pushed him off the edge that he had been teetering off of. Dread filled Yuuji as he felt his pants becoming uncomfortably tight, his abdomen twisting itself into knots at the heat between his legs.
Maybe it was his embarrassingly extensive knowledge of shoujo mangas that was the cause of this sudden attraction, but he was still in this unfortunate predicament all the same. Only things like this happened in shoujo mangas after all. Fushiguro was a boy though, and this only happened between a girl and a guy in those damn romance mangas.
Fushiguro was a pretty boy, though, with long dark lashes and striking blue eyes. His lips were even nice to look at even though he was pouty and sullen. Yuuji had noticed how pretty he was right away, but hadn’t given it a thought more than that...until now, that is. Unfortunate timing be damned.
“Itadori?” Fushiguro muttered into his ear, his voice low, annoyed, and barely audible. Yuuji’s whole body seemed to alight with electricity, flowing freely throughout his limbs in an uncomfortable current. His sweaty palms began to shake, and he pressed them smartly against his own thighs in order to still them.
Yuuji took a moment to find his breath. It was just his hormones, that was it. It was just his hormones that made him picture Fushiguro bowing over him, blue eyes locked onto his as he lay his body flush against his. He could just imagine the breath currently splaying across his neck being replaced with the pouting lips he knew so well, and his thigh muscles clenched in restlessness.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Hmm?” Yuuji hummed in response, his head spinning. He felt as if he was on a ship, rocking back and forth on the rough waves that crashed below him. The noise he had made sounded desperate, and he really hoped Fushiguro wasn’t catching on to this ridiculous situation. He knew he would never be able to look Fushiguro in the eye again if he did.
“I asked if we can move,” Fushiguro murmured, his breath splaying across Yuuji’s neck. He still sounded annoyed, but was obviously trying to keep quiet for the sake of the game, despite not caring about it. “Your knee is killing my thigh.”
Yuuji realized that his knee was, in fact, digging painfully into Fushiguro’s thigh. Attempting to make the least noise possible in the small space, he began pushing himself up into a sitting position. He crossed his legs in front of him and felt Fushiguro let out a huff of pain as he moved.
He felt Fushiguro stretch his long legs out, pressing his feet against the wall that Yuuji’s back was now pressed against. They were on either side of Yuuji’s hips, trapping him against the wall just like his hands had done earlier. Since the wardrobe was small, the older boy could feel Fushiguro’s butt and the underside of his thighs pressed firmly against his shins. The younger boy was basically sitting on him, his knees sitting in the air between them.
If Yuuji hadn’t been fully hard before, he definitely was now. His uniform pants were usually very loose and comfortable, but extremely tight and unpleasant in this moment. He wanted to adjust himself to relieve some of the pressure, but he knew if he did, he would give himself away.
“I can’t believe you played the ‘I'm dying’ card,” Fushiguro muttered into the darkness. His voice gave off an air of sadness underneath the anger. Yuuji’s dirty thoughts dispersed with sudden guilt. “How could I say no to that?”
“I’m sorry,” Yuuji muttered, wringing his fingers together in the darkness. “I mean it, though. I want to do something. I don’t feel like I’m doing enough.”
Fushiguro let out an annoyed huff. His feet, still pressed against the wall near Yuuji’s hips, slid downward. The bottom of his slender legs were now laying across Yuuji’s knees and the inside of his thighs, his feet still pressed against the wall, but now much lower. The bottom of his shoes were now digging into Yuuji’s hips. Yuuji knew that it was just to stretch his legs out, to make himself more comfortable in this confined space, but now Yuuji was the exact opposite of feeling comfortable now. He began to panic, his whole body breaking into a sweat as he realized how close the back of Fushiguro’s left calf was to the inside of his thigh...where he was tight in his pants.
“You’re never going to think you’ve done enough,” Fushiguro muttered, oblivious to Yuuji’s current mental turmoil. “That’s just who you are. Even so, it doesn’t mean that you haven’t.”
In the back of his mind, under all of his scandalizing and terrified thoughts, Yuuji realized that this was the most personal conversation that the two of them have shared. Fushiguro wasn’t a talkative person by any means, and he was extremely bad with feelings and words. He had ignored Yuuji for almost two weeks after he had come back from pretending to be dead, but Yuuji knew not to take it personally. The other boy just processed things differently, and that was okay.
He could hear through the thin wall separating their rooms how restless Fushiguro had been once he had come back, though, and had desperately wanted to go talk to him every night. Fushiguro was usually extremely quiet in the other room, but for the week that he ignored Yuuji, he could hear him awake and moving around in the early hours of the morning when he would usually be sound asleep.
At the Goodwill Event, he felt the air shift between the two of them. Fushiguro was usually so reserved and withdrawn from all emotions, and seeing him at the event had changed his whole perception of the younger boy. His worrisome expression was enough to draw confusion and awe from Yuuji.
“Wait! Even you won’t-”
“Fushiguro. Don’t worry.”
When Yuuji had said those words, the look on Fushiguro’s face betrayed all of the emotion that he had been holding in the past few months. He looked at Yuuji as if he had seen a ghost - as if he had been thrown into a whirlpool of memories that he had desperately tried to avoid thinking of.
“I’ll kill you if you die again!”
What was it that had changed between them?
“Thanks, Fush-”
The wooden wardrobe was ripped open, blinding both of the boys with the sudden light. Inumaki stood holding the small doors open, looking triumphantly down at the two of them.
Yuuji glanced back at Fushiguro, who was looking up at the boy standing in front of them. Yuuji hadn’t realized, truly, how close they had been. It really did look like the raven haired boy was straddling him in the small space, their faces much closer than he had assumed them to be. He couldn’t help but be captivated by those long dark lashes, and the perfect slope of the other boys nose -
Kugisaki’s loud, shrill voice behind Inumaki broke Yuuji’s train of thought. “No way were you right! He isn’t crazy enough - Fushiguro too?!”
Fushiguro was the first to exit the wardrobe, untangling his long limbs from Yuuji as he pushed the ends of Gojo’s jackets out of his way. He began grumbling about how he was guilt tripped while Kugisaki chastised him for cheating.
"Gojo-Sensei's office is always off limits! You know that, moron! You can't-"
A hand appeared next to Yuuji’s face, startling him. He looked up, Inumaki patiently waiting to help him to his feet. He took the boy's hand, thanking him as he pushed Gojo’s jackets out of the way. Yuuji was oblivious to the curious look that Inumaki was giving him.
---
The dreams came next. They were extremely vivid, causing Yuuji to jerk awake gasping before desperately searching his bed to see if anyone was in it with him.
Well...not anyone. There was only one person starring in his reoccurring dreams.
Yuuji hadn’t had a single thought about a man before the damn wardrobe incident. He hadn’t even thought to think about someone of the same sex. He tried to chalk everything he was feeling up to his raging teenage hormones, but even that wasn’t an excuse after a while. No matter how many scandalous dreams he had about Fushiguro, there were even more that weren’t scandalous. There were hand holding and cuddling dreams, too - dreams that made his heart ache pathetically in his chest when he woke up. The dreams where long, slender fingers ran down his cheek and reached out to pull him close weren’t driven from his raging teenage hormones.
He knew there was nothing wrong with being gay, he just genuienly hadn’t thought that he would ever be pondering the fact that he may be gay himself. It didn’t shock him or terrify him, but only made him extremely curious. How did someone know if they were gay or not? And how did he know if these feelings towards Fushiguro were romantic and not purely admiration for the boy?
Everytime he thought of the possibility that it could just be admiration, he was immediately pulled into the memory of Fushiguro bunting the baseball during the Goodwill Game in order for Kugisaki to hit the home run for herself. The memory had always sat heavy on Yuuji’s mind - the thought of doing that for Kugisaki never having occurred to him. The amount of selflessness that Fushiguro possessed made him speechless...it always had.
After two weeks of his contemplation, he had a chance to test his thoughts out. He had been trying to think of a way to get the boy alone, and he struck up a plan.
Fushiguro ducked out of the common area and into the courtyard like he did every Saturday morning. Yuuji, who was usually fast asleep this early in the morning, had anticipated this. Today, he had been on the couch, restlessly waiting for the other boy to make his appearance. As soon as he did, Yuuji scrambled off of the couch and jogged after him and out of the building.
“Hey, Fushi!”
Fushiguro turned, his eyebrows raised in surprise, but still stopped in order to allow him to catch up. Yuuji skidded to a halt next to him, sending him a bright smile. Finally being alone with Fushiguro after two weeks of having dreams about him made Yuuji nervous. It didn’t help that the raven haired boy looked very attractive today. He had replaced his usual uniformed attire for a very oversized white shirt, dark skinny jeans and low top vans. He had a black backpack hanging off of his back, giving him the appearance of a normal student walking to class and not a powerful jujutsu sorcerer.
Yuuji, who was wearing an oversized yellow t-shirt and jeans, felt underdressed. At least he could pass as a normal student as well, despite being a vessel for a special grade curse. The lingering thought threatened to dampen his mood before he quickly shoved it to the side. “Where are you going?”
Fushiguro hesitated for a moment, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He studied Yuuji’s face for a moment before responding, as if to figure out the pink haired boy's motive. “To the field.”
“Can I join you?” Yuuji asked, attempting to curb his excitement. He stuffed his own hands into his pockets in an attempt to hide his nervous jitters. Fushiguro shrugged, but turned to continue walking the way he had been headed before they had stopped. Yuuji followed wordlessly, trying to hold down a smile.
“Why are you awake so early?” Fushiguro questioned, avoiding eye contact and looking forward as they walked. Yuuji shrugged, completely forgetting that the other boy couldn’t see him.
“I slept early,” Yuuji lied, forcing a small laugh.
Fushiguro only hummed in response.
Yuuji didn’t know that Fushiguro knew immediately that he was lying. The raven haired boy had woken in the middle of the night to use the restroom and had heard Yuuji rustling around in his room. He knew that Yuuji was definitely not asleep early last night.
“I don’t know what else to do this early, you know?” Yuuji rambled, half nervous and half longing to talk to the other boy more than he normally did in order to find out exactly how he was feeling. “Like damn, I didn’t know the whole world was so quiet at this time, I’m usually always sleeping through it! If I knew it was so quiet and peaceful maybe I would have tried to be a morning person, you know?”
“Well, it was quiet and peaceful,” Fushiguro muttered, catching Yuuji off guard. Yuuji raised his eyebrows and stared at the other boy, expecting to see annoyance, but was pleasantly surprised instead to see a hint of a faint smile.
Yuuji laughed, reaching out and tugging on one of Fushiguro’s pointy black locks. Fushiguro pouted, slapping his hand away. “Jerk. I can be quiet!”
“Can you?” Fushiguro challenged, raising his eyebrows and looking over at him as they walked. Yuuji reached out to grab another piece of Fushiguro’s hair, but was rejected with another slap to his hand.
“I can, but I choose not to,” Yuuji explained, reaching out and poking Fushiguro’s bicep instead of attempting to grab his hair again. He was rewarded with another pout, and the blue eyed boy slapped a hand over his arm to protect it from another attack. “Besides, I wouldn’t be myself if I was quiet.”
Fushiguro didn’t respond. Yuuji admired the small stream that ran near their feet, moss covered rocks littered everywhere around it. It appeared to be prettier this early in the morning, as if it had just woken up itself. The quiet babbling of the stream lapsed in the silence between the two boys. Since their school was deep in the forested area near Tokyo, the quiet was always all around them. Maybe Yuuji did disrupt the quiet morning after all.
“Okay, maybe it is nicer when it’s quiet,” Yuuji admitted, sighing and crossing his arms behind his head as they walked. He glanced up at the trees surrounding them, bright and green as their leaves swayed in the gentle breeze. “I don’t walk around here as much as I should. The nature here is pretty. I hadn’t ever been to Tokyo before this, you know.”
“Where did you grow up?” Fushiguro asked, eyes now up on the trees as well, the sound of their footsteps clicking in unison against the cobblestone path. Yuuji missed how one of Fushiguro’s hands grabbed tightly at the strap of his backpack, as if anchoring him in place.
“Sendai City,” Yuuji responded, surprised at the question. “In the Miyagi Prefecture. I lived with my grandpa there until he died. That was the same day you came to the hospital, actually. He had just died that day.”
Fushiguro didn’t respond for so long that Yuuji thought that he wouldn’t get a response at all. As soon as they reached the small stone steps that descended to the field, though, the raven haired boy paused at the top and turned to glance over at him. His face held an unreadable emotion, but his eyes appeared to be swimming with sympathy and guilt.
“I didn’t realize that was the same day,” Fushiguro explained, averting his gaze. He stared down at the grassy training field below them, unable to meet Yuuji's gaze. “You said you were in mourning, and I didn't even stop to think. I apologize.”
Yuuji decided that he did not like this side of Fushiguro, who felt guilty about something he had done. Yuuji dropped his arms before reaching out to quickly yank once more at one of Fushiguro’s soft spikes before galloping down the stone steps. He walked across the hard red running track that ran in a circle around the field before his high tops found purchase on the soft grass.
He turned to glance up at Fushiguro, who was still standing on the top of the stone steps. He had on the same guilt-ridden expression as before.
“What are we doing, Fushi? Training?”
The sound of his voice seemed to break Fushiguro’s reverie. He walked down the steps then, his long legs taking them two at a time. Yuuji couldn’t help his yearning to go over and grab hold of the younger boy and never let go. Why did he have to look so huggable and soft in that oversized shirt? Why couldn’t this be the uniform that he wore everyday?
“I feel really restless sometimes,” Fushiguro admitted, surprising Yuuji with his honesty and his random admission. He walked over to the pink haired boy, and to his surprise, took a seat at his feet. Yuuji tentatively did the same, plopping himself next to his friend. “Expelling my shikigami can help.”
“Oh!” Yuuji exclaimed, suddenly intrigued. He clasped his hands together in excitement as Fushiguro slipped off his backpack and placed it on the ground in front of them. “Who are you going to let out? The divine dog? The big owl thing? Maybe the-”
“The rabbits,” Fushiguro interrupted, sighing at Yuuji’s overexcitement. One side of his mouth was tugged up in a soft smile, though, and it caused Yuuji’s heart to soar. He had never seen him smile this much, and each one was a unique reward to be treasured.
“I’ve never pet a rabbit,” Yuuji mused, trying to think back on his childhood. “Are they soft? Do they play like dogs?”
“Be patient. You can touch them in a second.” Fushiguro reached out to poke him in the arm, just as hard as Yuuji had done to him earlier. Yuuji yelped, swatting at the boy's finger, but unable to help but smile at the fact that Fushiguro’s smile still hadn’t faded yet. “There’s going to be a lot.”
“A lot? Like how many? Ten? Twenty-?”
Yuuji’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of Fushiguro’s hands. He felt the pit of his stomach drop out of his ass and roll across the football field under them. He wouldn’t be surprised if it even made a touchdown all the way across the bright green grass.
Fushiguro’s skin color was much lighter than Yuuji’s, a milky soft color that made the veins and bumps on his hands much more pronounced under the bright sunlight. He flipped his left hand over, making an upward symbol with his fingers on his right hand that slightly resembled a rabbit with long ears. His fingers were impossibly long and very lean, the overall size of his hands intimidating. They were much larger than Yuuji’s, and they looked very strong.
Damn, Fushiguro had some pretty hands.
All around them, hundreds of rabbits began popping up out of thin air. They seemed to come straight from the shadows around them, and all Yuuji could do was watch in fascination. Each rabbit had a fluffy white coat with blazing red eyes, each one identical to the last as they began moving around the two boys. There were so many rabbits that they took up the whole football field, occupied the stone steps, and hopped along the cobblestone path that the boys had just walked along.
“Can I grab one?” Yuuji asked breathlessly, glancing up at Fushiguro. He was surprised to see that the raven haired boy, illuminated brightly under the harsh sunlight, was already looking at him. Fushiguro quickly glanced away as their eyes met.
“If they let you,” He muttered, reaching out to aimlessly stroke one of the rabbits that had planted itself on his shoe. “They’re not usually very nice.”
Yuuji reached out to gently pick one up, ignoring his warning. It went limp and compliant in his grasp, as if it was completely fine with being handled. Yuuji placed it on his lap and tentatively began stroking the small animal's fur, amazed at how soft its coat was. The rabbit turned its small head to lick his fingers, and Yuuji laughed at the unfamiliar sensation. Another small white mass jumped up onto his lap and licked his forearm, appearing to be jealous of the other rabbit's attention.
“You truly are amazing, Fushiguro,” Yuuji couldn’t help but whisper, in awe at the sea of small white creatures surrounding them. He could feel his smile taking up his entire face, almost painful at how wide it was. He turned to look at Fushiguro, who seemed surprised by his praise. His eyes were wide, and a faint pink dusted his cheeks and ears. He glanced away quickly when Yuuji had looked over at him, busying himself with a rabbit that had hopped onto his lap.
The rabbits around them had been aimlessly wandering around; ignoring them as they nipped at the grass and played with one another. Until suddenly, they weren’t wandering aimlessly. All of the rabbits around Yuuji seemed to turn towards him in unison before bounding over to him, piling on top of him and each other as if they were overly excited puppies. Yuuji couldn’t help but laugh as he attempted to give each squirming white bundle their own equal pet, amazed at their soft fur and their eagerness.
“Why did they get so excited?” Yuuji asked, laughing in amazement as one jumped onto his shoulder and another jumped against his chest. At his laughter, even more seemed to catch attention to him. The rabbits from way across the field came sprinting towards them, even the ones too far away to hear his laughter. Yuuji could barely see Fushiguro over the squirming white masses surrounding them and jumping all over him, threatening to pull him under. Hundreds ran around them in circles, hopping crazily and kicking their back legs excitedly as they ran.
“Damn, Megumi,” A voice said, cutting through the moment. The rabbits all disappeared at once, vanishing as fast as they had appeared. Yuuji glanced up in disappointment at the person who had spoken and had broken whatever trance the bunnies had been in. Maki stood above them, so close that he was shocked he hadn’t noticed her approach before. “I’ve never seen them act like that.”
This wasn’t the first time Maki had called Fushiguro by his first name, but this time felt different. It caused Yuuji’s stomach to twist into knots. He knew they were both from the Zenin clan, but did that mean they were family? He didn’t know much about the famous jujutsu families, so he didn’t want to assume before he knew for sure.
Yuuji turned to look over at Fushiguro as he hauled himself to his feet. He was ignoring Yuuji’s gaze. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be, Zenin-senpai?”
Maki huffed, crossing her strong arms over her chest. “I told you not to call me that.”
She was wearing her uniform, although it was the weekend, with her dark hair pulled smartly back into a tight ponytail. Yuuji hadn’t seen her since the baseball game after the Goodwill Event, and his chest began to feel uneasy at her presence. She had to be family, correct?
Suddenly, Maki was looking down at Yuuji through her thick frames, as if she could feel his glare. He straightened his face, attempting to look nonchalant. He didn’t realize how malicious he had been staring up at her before it was too late.
“Is it okay if I steal my cousin?” Maki asked, raising her eyebrows at Yuuji as her dark eyes gleamed at him through her glasses. She had a knowing look on her face, and Yuuji flushed red. Oh, okay. Cousins. He had been right.
Yuuji nodded in response, unable to speak. He stared down at his shoes as Fushiguro scooped up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.
Well, there was his answer. The uneasy and angry feeling that had flared up in a matter of moments just because someone interrupted their time together was enough to confirm his questioning. He wouldn’t have given it a second thought if Maki had interrupted his time with Kugisaki. He wouldn’t have cared, frankly.
He distantly heard the two of them give their partings, but Yuuji’s mind was too busy swimming with realization and confusion to answer. He took a few deep breaths before flopping down onto the grass, groaning. Fuck, he was screwed.
Was it truly the closet that had changed things, or had it been the Goodwill Event? Had it been the selfless act from Fushiguro at the baseball game?
As soon as they exited the field, out of earshot of the pink haired boy, Fushiguro rounded on Maki. He glared daggers at her as they walked, clutching his backpack straps so tightly that his knuckles turned white under the strain. His face was flushed pink with frustration. “Why would you put emphasis on cousins like that?! He’s going to think something he shouldn’t-”
Maki laughed, throwing her head back and looking up at the beautiful green leaves gently blowing in the wind as their shoes clacked against the cobblestone pavement. Her cousin was very powerful, yes, but he vaguely reminded her of an angry chihuahua at this moment. “It was for his sake, not yours. Don’t worry.”
“What are you talking about?”
Maki chanced a glance at Fushiguro. He was still glaring at her, but his ears and cheekbones were still dusted pink. She laughed again, shaking her head incredulously. Never in a million years would she have guessed that she would witness Megumi, of all people, harboring a crush. She had known for a while of course, probably much longer than Fushiguro had known himself, but had kept her teasing at bay until it became too obvious to ignore. The rabbits were enough for her to finally snap, and Yuuji glaring up at her had been the cherry on top.
“Just because you’re obvious doesn’t mean he’s not oblivious.”
Fushiguro spluttered, clearly about to deny what she said. Maki waved a hand in the air, dismissing whatever ridiculous argument he was about to spew out. “We all know that Shikigami act off of your direct emotions, and those rabbits were way too happy. I can’t believe you want to kiss someone who ate a special grade finger, for God’s sake. A finger, Megumi. How unsanitary.”
“I don’t... I... no.”
Maki took one more glance at her cousin before bursting out into laughter. Fushiguro had sped up, walking at an impressive speed to escape from her teasing. She didn’t miss the color of his face, though, and how obviously uncomfortable he was by her teasing. As she watched, one of his boots slipped unceremoniously off of the cobblestone path and slid into the small creek running alongside them.
Her laughing echoed loudly around them as her cousin booked it back to their school, leaving her behind and refusing to glance back as his now soaked shoe squished obnoxiously against the stone path with every step.
THIS CHAPTER INSPIRED AMAZING ART??!! Thank you @dunatdan on Twitter <3
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